Phonograph



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BRUENING, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

PHONOGRAPH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,370, dated June 13, 1893.

Application filed March 25, 1892. Serial No. 426| N0 m l-l To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BRUENING, a citizen of the United States, residing in the township of East Orange, county of Essex, and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Phonographs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in phonographs and has for its object to provide a cheap and efficient mechanism for general use and consists principally in the following improvements:

A tablet of new and convenient shape is used which is selfsustaining by having one or more axial bearings 01' perforated hubs permanently attached thereto and which revolves spirally on a fixed rod or bar and is provided with recording material adapted to receive a durable record.

The invention ,further' comprises certain special constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanyingtwo sheets of drawings which form part of this specification, Figure 1, is a central vertical section of the mechanism. Fig. 2, is a vertical cross-section on the line x w, of Fig. 1, partly in elevation and with the style in position for reproducing. Fig. 3, is a front elevation with the recorder and tablet removed and the fixed rod or bar released and tilted. Fig. 4, is a central sectional view of the recorder (or reproducer). Fig. 5, is an enlarged front view of the forward support of the style showing the movable button and its slot and the handpiece for turning the same. Fig. 6, is an enlarged sectional view of part of the recorder showing the manner of attaching and supporting the style and diaphragm.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the figures.

The frame of the machine consists of a base supporting at each end standard 10, and 11, to which is secured at the front and rear a plate 28, of metal or other suitable material and a removable cover. A shaft 12, is jour-.

naled in the standards 10, and 11, as shown in Fig. 1, one end tapering to a point and bearing in an adjustable screw in the standard 10, and the other end passes through the standard 11 and is journaled therein by an attached tapering collar and provided at its end with a hand-wheel or other usual means for rotating the same. A smooth round bar or rod 13, is secured detachably to the standards 10, and 11, and is preferably hinged at one end-14 and secured at the other end by a locking device 15, and may be tilted to remove or slip on a tablet but is not capable of rotation. A rack 17, is hinged to the standard 10,

near its base, parallel to the shaft 12, and held in position bya bar 18 suspendedfromthe lever 40. A sleeve 20, movably encircles the shaft 12, and carries at one end a circular screwcut flange or wormwheel 21, and a gear 22, with an intermediate groove 56; the sleeve 20 is provided with an internal socket at any feasible point, preferably near the end which carries the wormwheel 21, and the shaft 12, is provided with a longitudinal groove; independent revolution of the sleeve onthe shaft is prevented by a ball 23, preferably of steel, which is seated in the socket in the sleeve and engages with the groove on the shaft and permits the sleeve to move endwise thereon. The groove and socket and the ball engaging therewith take the place of a pin and slot whereby the friction is greatly decreased as the sleeve moves endwise on the revolving shaft. The arm 24, is attached at one end to the sleeve 20, by a collar 25, which is movably secured thereon by rings 26, and the other end extends through a slot 27 in the frame-plate 28 and a pointer 29 and a knob or handpiece 30 are attached thereto by which the'sleeve 20 may be moved in either direction and by which also the tablet is moved in relation to the style so that any part of the tablet may be placed in operative position with the style.

The sliding frame may be of any usual construction and, as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4,

consists of the annular frame 36 provided with pins 38 and 39 moving in blocks 41 and 42 fixed on the plate 43, which moves in vertic-a1 slides 44 attached to the frameplate 28; lateral motion is imparted to the frame 36 by turning the nut 48 which is movably held in the block 42 and engages with the threaded pin 39 attached to the frame 36, which holds the style with its attachments by means of the setscrew 62 and the projections 63.

The sliding frame is adj ustably supported by the screw 45, which is pivoted with one of its ends on the frame 36, and works in a nut 46, which is movably secured on the lever 40, by a pivoted collar 47 attached thereto. The lever 40, consisting of a flat bar, is pivoted on the frameplate 28 by a pin 49 and is locked in position on the block 51, which is attached to the frameplate 28 and provided with a guard 52, by a movable cam 50 and its handpiece 53 attached to the lever; a spring 69 attached to the lever engages with a projection on the arm of the handpiece 53 to hold the lever in place but a spring catch or other suitable device may be used instead of the cam. A movable collar 70 on the shaft 12 is connected with the cam 50 by a pivoted rod 71 an d the cam may be moved thereby to release the lever. A socket shown as an angular strip of metal 66, Fig. 3, is provided with a setscrew 37 and attached to the plate 43 of the sliding-frame to support a lamp and its adjustable holder, and the plate 43 is provided with an opening 35 for the insertion of the burner tube when using a heated style.

A scale 60, Fig. 3, is marked on the frameplate 28 near the edge of the slot 27 on which the pointer 29 indicates the position of the style on the tablet. The tablet 31, Fig. 1, may be a solid or hollow cylinder made of or coated with suitable recording material and have a longitudinal central opening for the passage of the fixed rod or bar 13 and a gear or flange or other suitable means removably or permanently attached to one of its heads by which it may be revolved, or a cylindrical tube may be provided with one or more perforated hubs or axial bearings; but I prefer to make it in the following manner: A sheet of metal is formed by drawing or other usual means into a cup with cylindrical sides and a central opening is made into the bottom or base the edges whereof are turned up to form a short tubular flange 75 as a bearing, or a bearing or perforated hub may be centrally attached to the base, or the cup may be made by castmg in a suitable mold; the edge forming the mouth of the cup is trimmed and provided with an internal screwthread or other suitable means for removably attaching a cap or disk 32 thereto which is provided with a gear 33 and a flange 34 and a central opening fitting the fixed rod or bar 13; the removable cap 32 may therefore serve as an attachment for all tablets used in the machine. The cup 31 is coated by stopping its openings and dipping it into any suitable fluid or dissolved recording material, which in its normal condition is firm and may be fused or softened by heat; I prefer for this purpose, and thereby obtaining an entirely metallic tablet, an alloy consisting of about eight parts of bismuth, five parts of lead and three parts of tin, by weight, as having a low melting-point, but these proportions may be varied or other metals added or substituted; when the external surface of thecup has been coated .with the alloy and the surplus thereof removed, which is done in a manner and by methods well known in the art of tinning, the cap 32 is attached to the cup and the whole slipped on the rod or bar 13, which is tilted for the purpose, and moved thereon and therewith until the flange 34 engages with the groove 56 and the gear 33 with the gear 22, when the rod or bar 13 is locked on the frame by the hook 15, or other locking device.

In Figs. 4 and (3 a recorder is shown which may also be used as a reprod ucer; it consists of a cylindrical tube or thimble which is bent inwardly at one end to form a narrow flange 81, upon which rests between washers of soft or yielding material the edge of a circular diaphragm which is secured in place by the outwardly threaded flange 82 of a funnel or tapering tube 83 engaging with an internal screwthread on the thirnble 80; the elongated style 84 is secured to the diaphragm 85 by means of a plate secured by a pin and nut to the center thereof which is provided with ears between which the end of the style is pivoted by means of a pin passing through a hole in the style and the ears aforesaid and it is supported near its other end or point by a slot in a cross-piece 86, held in position by a spider composed of metallic strips with a central opening, and by a slotted button 88 supported in said opening and capable of being turned therein by a handpiece 82'); when the button 88 is turned so that the slot therein extends in the same direction as that in the crosspiece 86, it permits lateral movement of the style point to accommodate itself to any irregularities of the record in reproducing while if the two slots cross each other, only longitudinal movement of the style is possible and in this position it is used for recording; a point attached to the handpiece 89 engages with depressions on the central frame of the spider to secure the button 88in the desired position; see Fig. 5.

In operation the recorder is secured in position in the annular frame 36 of the sliding frame the pointer 29 is moved by means of the knob 30 to the beginning of the scale 60, and the lever 40 is raised by moving the cam 50 into an uprightposition by the handpiece 53, whereby the rack 17 is raised and engages with the wormwheel 21 and the sliding frame is moved by which the point of the style is brought in operative position on the tablet 31, which may further be determined by turning the nut 46; the shaft 12 is rotated by turning the handwheel 91, or in any other usual manner; the tablet 31 is revolved through the gear 33 engaging with the gear 22 and sound operating on the diaphragm through the tube 83, the vibrating style traverses a spiral line on or in the recording ma terial of the cylindrical tablet and a record is formed by any of the known methods of recording sound. When the tablet 31, which is progressed endwise on the rod or bar 13, by its flange 34 engaging with the groove 56 between the gear 22 and the worm-wheel 21 which moves in the rack 17, has traversed the length of the rod or bar 13, the end of the sleeve 20,

which has end motion on'the shaft 12, comes in contact with and moves the collar 70 endwise on the shaft whereby the bar 71, which connects the collar 70 and the cam 50, moves the cam and throws the lever 40 outof position by gravity and thereby releases the rack 17 from the worm-wheel 21 and terminates further end motion'of the tablet while at the same time the style moving with the supporting sliding frame recedes from the tablet. When an electric motor isused to give motion to the mechanism, the movement of'the lever 40, or that of its attachments, may be used to open or close the circuit of the motive current by moving an attached switch or similar device. 1

In reproducing sound from a record, the

pointer 29 is moved by means of the knob 30 back to theobeginning of the scale 60,'which moves the sleeve 20 on the shaft 12 and the tablet 31 on the rod or bar 13 by means of their connections into their original positions, or the pointer 29 may be moved to' any part of the scale to reproduce or to repeat any part of the record, and the button 88 supporting the point of the style is turned by its handpiece 89 to bring the slot therein into line with the slot in the crosspiece 86. The lever 40 is raised by moving the cam 50 by its handpiece 53, which-brings the style in operative position on the tablet and engages the rack 17 with the wormwheel21, the shaft 12 is rotated as before and thestyle is adjusted by means of the nut 46; the point of the style being now capable of lateral motion conforms to any irregularities of the record and causes audible reproduction thereof.

I do not confine myself to either toothed or frictional gearing and to the arrangement of the flange in progressing the tablet endwise on the shaft asit is obvious that the several parts may be differently'arranged to obtain the same result and the mechanism may be so arranged that the sliding frame may carry the style in any other than a vertical line toward and away from the surface of the tablet, but I prefer-toothed gearing as by marks or lines drawn thereon or on its attachments I am enabled to always place it in the same relative position.

Heretofore, as shown in my application, Serial No. 37 7,724, filed January 14, 1891, as well as in other sound recording mechanisms, tablets were attached to separate tablet holders for the purpose of reciprocating or revolving them thereby; in this invention the tablet is made of rigid material and provided permanently with one or more perforated hubs or axial bearings and therefore dispenses with a tablet holder.

The advantages of the machine and its attachments are that it is simple in its arrangements and may be cheaply constructed andreadily operated and by arranging the tablet, fixed rod or bar and shaft as shown a comparatively coarse thread may be used in the wormwheel and rack; the tablet is provided thereon i mpaired by frequent reproduction as when using fragile or easily marred material, while the machine and tablet may be used with any known methods of recording sounds, such as by using an indenting,-a cutting or a tracing style or either of the apparatus shown and described in myapplications, Serial Nos. 400350, and 400,451, both filed July 23, 1891, or in my application, Serial No. 401,373, filed August 1, 1891, which in that case is provided with a suitable style, may be attached to the sliding frame by the means and for the purposes set forth therein.

What I'claim is 1. In a phonograph, a recorder or reproducer in combination with a cylindrical tablet which is provided with one or more axial bearings or perforated 'hubs, a fixed rod or 'bar supporting said tablet and means for spirally revolving said tablet on said rod or bar, substantially as described.

2. In a phonograph, afixed rod or bar and a cylindrical tablet movably mountedthereon -in combination with a shaft which is capable of rotation, a sleeeve encircling said shaft and capable of end motion thereon, a wormwheel attached to said sleeve, a swinging rack and gearing, substantially as described.

3. In a phonograph, a shaft which is provided with a longitudinal groove in combination with a sleeve movably encircling said shaft which is provided with a socket,'.and a ball operatively engaging said groove and said socket, substantially as described.

4. In a phonograph, a cylindrical tablet movably mounted on a fixed rod or bar in combination with a sleeve encircling a shaft, an arm to move said sleeve endwise on said shaft and means whereby the tablet is moved endwise on the fixed rod or bar by the endmovement of said sleeve, substantially as described. I

5. In a phonograph, a swinging rack in combination with a pivoted lever, an arm movably connecting said rack with said lever, a worm-.

wheel, a cam or catch to hold said lever in position, a cylindrical tablet provided with an axial bearing and movably mounted on a fixed rod or bar and means for revolving said tablet spirally thereon, substantially as .de-' scribed.

I 6. In a phonograph, a swinging rack in combination Withapivoted lever, an arm movably connecting said rack with said lever, an ad-' justable sliding frame carrying a recorder or reproducer attached to said lever, acam or catch tohold said lever in position, a worm-' wheel, a cylindrical tablet movably mounted on a fixed rod or bar and means for revolving said tablet spirally thereon, substantially as described. I

7. In a phonograph, a sw nging rack and a recorder or reproducer which are movably" supported by a pivoted lever and a cam or catch to hold said lever in position in combination with a Wormwheel, a cylindrical tablet movably mounted on a fixed rod or bar and means for releasing said cam or catch, substantially as described.

8. In a phonograph, an elongated style pivoted at one end on a diaphragm in combination with a support near its other end or point which is provided with a locking device to prevent or permitlateral motion of said point, substantially as described.

9. In a phonograph, an elongated style pivoted at one end on the diaphragm and provided near its other end or point with a fixed and a movable support which are provided with slots in which the style is supported, substantially as described.

10. In a phonograph, the following elements in combination, a shaft provided with means for rotating the same and with a longitudinal groove, a sleeve movably encircling said shaft provided with a socket, a ball operatively engaging said groove and said socket, a wormwheel attached to said sleeve, a pivoted lever provided with a cam or catch, a swinging rack and a sliding frame movably supported by said lever, a recorder or reproducer carried by said sliding frame, a fixed rod or bar which is parallel to said shaft, a cylindrical tablet provided with one or more axial bearings and movably mounted on said rod or bar and means for spirally revolving said tablet thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in the presence of two witnesses, this 24th day of March, 1892.

WILLIAM BRUENING. Witnesses:

CHARLES S. WILLIAMS, MONTGOMERY LINDSAY. 

